Mohammad Hasnain's fruitful spell and a solid half-century from Azam Khan helped Quetta Gladiators beat Islamabad United by three wickets in the opening encounter of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 this Thursday (February 20). 

Middle-order batsman Azam, son of former Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan, came in as a replacement to Umar Akmal after his suspension and played a brilliant knock, scoring a 33-ball 59, glint with five boundaries and three sixes, to help Gladiators successfully chase down the 169-run target. 

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Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed (21), Mohammad Nawaz (23) also contributed twenties before Ben Cutting (22*) finished off the proceedings. 

Muhammad Musa (3/30) bagged three wickets in his spell for the United but the rest of the bowling attack failed to restrict the opponent. 

Earlier in the day, Hasnain (4/25), Sohail Khan (2/21) and Cutting (3/31) did the bulk of the damage with the ball for Gladiators as United got all out for 168 runs; Dawid Malan (64) played a fine knock but no other batsman in the line-up came to the party. 

Hasnain was later awarded the "Player-of-the-Match" for his magnificent bowling performance. 

Brief scores:

Islamabad United 168/10 in 19.1 overs (Dawid Malan 64; Mohammad Hasnain 4/25) lost to Quetta Gladiators 171/7 in 18.3 overs (Azam Khan 59; Muhammad Musa 3/30) by three wickets